Russia Begins Georgia Pull Out -- The Telegraph
Russia has dismantled a checkpoint and begun pulling a small number of troops out of Georgia.
The moves raised hopes that the crisis in the Caucasus could be concluded peacefully despite a deadly car bomb attack last week in the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
A company of soldiers dismantled a checkpoint near the village of Ali on the southwest perimeter of a buffer zone surrounding South Ossetia, the separatist region that has, with Moscow's support, fought a 17-year rebellion against the Georgian government.
Russian soldiers also appeared to be preparing to withdraw from two more villages, one near South Ossetia and a second outside Zugdidi, a city close to Abkhazia, another Moscow-backed rebel region.
Under an European Union-brokered deal negotiated by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Russia is supposed to withdraw all its troops from undisputed Georgian territory by Friday. Russia occupied positions deep inside Georgia proper in the days after a ceasefire was signed to end a five-day war in August.
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More News On Georgia/Russia:
Russia starts pull-back from Georgian war zones -- AFP
Russian troops begin dismantling posts in Georgia -- China View
Russia clears Georgia checkpoint -- Al Jazeera
Russia removes Georgia checkpoint -- BBC News
Russian troops start dismantling posts in Georgia -- International Herald Tribune
EU Georgia monitors see sign of Russian pullback -- Reuters
Russian troops start pullout from Georgia - local TV -- RIA Novosti
2 comments:
I think this quick withdrawal shows the general good-will of the Russian Government. If only we could pull out of Iraq as quickly! It would be a good idea to have an international conference on the status of the two territories. The decision on their recognition should be based on a thorough investigation of the will of the people who live there, not on geopolitical aspirations of world and regional powers.
It is a good opportunity to normalize the relations with the Russians and have more friends in the region.
The heated rhetoric of August is now in the past .... Russia and the West have bigger fish to fry.
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